TALON'S TAKE
Bicycle RaceWritten by: Freddie Mercury
Musicians:
Freddie Mercury - lead and backing vocals, piano, bicycle bells
Brian May - guitars, backing vocals, bicycle bells
John Deacon - bass guitar, bicycle bells
Roger Taylor - drums, backing vocals, bicycle bells
- A thinly veiled reference to what Freddie wanted to do all day
The video is one of their most controversial, filled with naked ladies riding around a track on their bikes. In concert at times they would also have a few naked ladies ride around the stage. There was some definite fall out from the video in that the band was forced to purchase new seats for all the bicycles they had rented for the video shoot after the company found out about how they were treated
- Played live through May of 1979 in the medley.
- A bit of a precursor to rap as Freddie basically raps part of the verse.
QUOTES:
- "Freddie wrote in strange keys. Most guitar bands play in A or E, and probably D and G, but beyond that there’s not much. Most of our stuff, particularly Freddie’s songs, was in oddball keys that his fingers naturally seemed to go to: E-flat, F, A-flat. They’re the last things you want to be playing on a guitar, so as a guitarist you’re forced to find new chords. Freddie’s songs were so rich in chord structures, you always found yourself making strange shapes with your fingers. Songs like
Bicycle Race have a billion chords in them.” – Brian May (2000)
ALTERNATIVE RELEASED VERSIONS:
1991 HOLLYWOOD REMIX- NOT necessary.
- A dance/hip hop remix. Not bad if you like that sort of thing but not my favorite remix.
2011 INSTRUMENTAL MIX- NOT necessary but you hear a LOT without the vocals so it's well worth the listen imo.
- From the Deluxe 2011 Island Remastering.
OFFICIALLY RELEASED LIVE VERSION:
LIVE KILLERS VERSION- AUDIO only.
PERSONAL NOTES:
- A fun song that only Freddie could have gotten away with.
CHANCES:
Bicycle Race.....5% -- Unlikely but it was a greatest hit. It wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility to bring it back but I don't see B&R chomping at the bit.
SUPPLEMENTAL:
I'm Going Slightly MadWritten by Freddie Mercury
Musicians:
Freddie Mercury - lead and backing vocals, keyboards, piano, drum programming
Brian May - guitars, backing vocals
John Deacon - bass guitar
Roger Taylor - drums, drum programming
-Issued as a single backed with ‘The Hitman’ and ‘Lost Opportunity’ in March 1991 in the UK (where it hit #22). Issued as a single backed with ‘The Hitman’ in March 1991 in Australia (where it did not chart), France, Germany, The Netherlands (where it hit #13), Hong Kong (where it hit #1) and Italy.
- This was Freddie harkening back towards his vaudeville days.
- This was not attempted live.
QUOTES:
"I wanted to make the video as memorable as possible. I've always wanted to costar in a video with a gorilla and a group of penguins. A little bit of Queen madness." - Freddie Mercury - 1991
"That was very much a Freddie track and you tend to want to give the author his head. Even though we said that everything is by Queen, there was still somebody who was basically the original author and everyone else worked on it. It was a good idea as it produced a lot of input, but in the end it was Freddie's baby so it was natural that he would want to get certain things right." - Brian May - October 1994 - Guitarist Magazine
"When Freddie penned the song ‘I’m Going Slightly Mad,’ it was after another through-the-night-session with Peter Straker. Freddie explained he had the phrase I’m going slightly mad on his brain and told Peter what sort of thing he wanted to say in the song. The inspiration for it was the master of camp one-liners, Noel Coward. Freddie set about with Peter trying to come up with a succession of goofy lyrics, each funnier than the last. He screamed when they came up with things like ‘I’m knitting with only one needle’ and ‘I’m driving only three wheels these days.’ But the masterstroke was ‘I think I’m a banana tree.’ Once that came out there was no stopping Freddie and Straker – they were then in full flow. I went to bed to fall asleep listening to their laughter wafting upstairs.” – Jim Hutton
ALTERNATE RELEASED PERFORMANCES:
TOTALLY BONKERS (FAN CLUB MESSAGE)- NOT essential but funny. Recorded as a message for the fan club convention with alternate lyrics.
MAD MIX- ESSENTIAL!
- This was reportedly from an earlier master and some things were eventually toned down, but I thought this version to be even funnier than the finished version and is my favorite version now.
VINYL EDIT- NOT Essential, just a slight edit.
GREATEST HITS II EDITNO YT VID
- NOT essential, another slight edit.
PERSONAL NOTES:
- This is just a great song. Quirky, funny, and amazing that a man in Freddie's condition can be so humorous. Great video as well. One of my favs from the band.
CHANCES:
I'm Going Slightly Mad......2% -- Probably not although I think it could be a very interesting, playful song done live....
The video is one of their most controversial, filled with naked ladies riding around a track on their bikes. In concert at times they would also have a few naked ladies ride around the stage. There was some definite fall out from the video in that the band was forced to purchase new seats for all the bicycles they had rented for the video shoot after the company found out about how they were treated 
